Rhythmic Gymnastics

Rhythmic Gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics, together with artistic (regular) gymnastics and trampolining. It evolved from the mass gymnastics popular in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century, combined with music and elements from dance. As a sport, it first emerged in the Soviet Union, where the first championships were held in 1948.

The sport is governed worldwide by the Fédération internationale de gymnastique (FIG), which was founded on 23 July 1881 in Liège, with three founding members: Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, and it was originally called the Bureau des fédérations européennes de gymnastique (FEG). It was re-named the FIG in 1921. As of 2020 the organization has 148 member federations. The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastics (FIG) recognized rhythmic gymnastics as a discipline in 1961, with the first World Championships being held in 1963.

The sport has five different attributes: rope, hoop, ball, ribbon and, previously, clubs. There is also an all-around competition, in which the results of the four apparatuses are combined. In group competitions, teams consist of five members, with two events: 1) five hoops and 2) three ribbons plus two ropes. Only women are allowed to participate in rhythmic gymnastics internationally, although men do compete in some countries, notably Japan.

The sport was approved for the Olympics in 1980. However, in 1952 and 1956 a similar event was part of the women’s gymnastics program: the team event with portable apparatus. In that event, teams were allowed to pick an attribute of their choice, such as balls, hoops or clubs. Only two events are held at the Olympic Games, the individual all-around event and the group all-around event, held since 1996.

When rhythmic gymnastics made its Olympic début in Los Angeles 1984, the competition suffered from the Soviet boycott, as that country and its successor nations have dominated the sport since the beginning. Russia has won 10 of the 15 gold medals awarded, and no other nation has won more than one.

Only four women, all Russian, have managed to win more than one gold medal: Nataliya Lavrova (2000-04) and Yelena Posevina (2004-08), and Anastasiya Bliznyuk (2012-16), all doubled in the group competition, while Yevgeniya Kanayeva won two individual titles (2008-12).